1. Field of the Present Disclosure
This disclosure relates generally to devices for disabling a pursued vehicle including devices that are placed under the vehicle while in motion, and more particularly to a device that is projected through the air to penetrate a tire of the fleeing vehicle.
2. Description of Related Art Including Information Disclosed Under 37 CFR 1.97 and 1.98
In dealing with vehicles that are fleeing from law enforcement a number of solutions have been invented. Typical among them are tire deflating devices which are used in an attempt to disable a fleeing vehicle while, at the same time, maintaining safety for the law officers, the general public and the individuals that are being pursued. Numerous devices have been invented to deflate the tires of a motor vehicle by placing upwardly-extending metal spikes in the path of the vehicle. Such devices can be used by law enforcement officers to stop or slow target vehicles. One such device is disclosed in Kilgrow et al, U.S. Pat. No. 5,253,950. This device comprises a tire deflator which can be extended from a collapsed condition to place an array of upwardly extending metal spikes over a section of roadway from approximately 10 to 25 feet wide. Other devices using spikes or the like are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,330,285 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,820,293. These and similar devices are typically deployed by hand; i.e. they are carried to a site where the target vehicle is expected and placed in the roadway in the hope that the vehicle will drive over the extended spikes.
Further solutions include Pacholok et al, U.S. Pat. No. 5,839,849 which describe a mechanical tire deflating device deployed by ejection forwardly from the front of a pursuing vehicle to a position beneath a second vehicle immediately in front of the law enforcement vehicle. According to the patent, a folded tire deflator is deployed forwardly of the law enforcement vehicle by a spring loaded launcher mounted on the front of the law enforcement vehicle. The deflator carries spikes which penetrate the tires of the target vehicle. Abukhader, U.S. Pat. No. 5,611,408 describes another vehicle disabling device. The patent discloses a folded tire deflating device that is deployed from a launcher mounted on the underside of the front of a law enforcement vehicle. Upon deployment spikes are extended in such a way as to penetrate the tires of a target vehicle. A laser beam is used to aim the tire deflator. Both the Pacholok et al and Abukhader devices pose a threat that the pursuing vehicle will run over the tire deflator which has been deployed from it.
Further related references include: De Sylva, U.S. 2005/0038592, discloses a system for selectively disabling a vehicle. In the illustrative embodiment, the system adapted to prevent high-speed automotive chases. The system includes a first mechanism for locating vehicle to be disabled. A second mechanism launches a disabling projectile toward the vehicle. A third mechanism employs the projectile to disable the vehicle by suffocating an engine of the vehicle or otherwise compromising the fuel/air mixture. In a specific embodiment, and an infrared guidance system guides the projectile toward a muffler of the vehicle, and a muffler-plugging agent incorporated within the projectile plugs a muffler. Holder, U.S. Pat. No. 5,067,237, discloses a battering ram for forcible entry through a door that has a pointed end with barbs to enable the door to be hooked and pulled outward. The barbs will swing between contracted and expanded positions. This spring biases the barbs to the expanded position. The barbs are conical and define a cone with the same taper as the pointed tip when the barbs are collapsed. One end of the battering ram may have a loop for attaching to a line connected to a vehicle. Also, one end of the battering ram may have a battering plate or may have a bar for prying burglar bars outward. Amiand et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,480,108, discloses an anchoring system using a harpoon secured under a helicopter and a grid platform that includes a shaft, having near its end, fingers oriented and movable radially between a retracted position and an extended position. The shaft includes a device for moving and retaining the fingers in the extended position. The device acts from a state activated in response to the penetration into the grid. It furthermore includes structure for unlocking the fingers and resetting the moving and retaining device. Harpoons including such catching heads, which have the advantage of being light and simple in construction, and capable of being adaptable to all types of helicopters are also contemplated. Fischbach, U.S. Pat. No. 6,246,323, discloses a tagging system for tagging a target vehicle consists of a tracking device, a launching device, a receiving device and a monitor to display the position of the target vehicle. The tracking device includes a tracking chip contained in a pliable carrier, and is stored in and launched from a housing mounted in a pursuit vehicle's grill. The launching device includes a firing pad slidably retained within the housing and spring mounted to the housing rear end. Pad forks in communication with a solenoid retain the firing pad near the housing rear end until two switches in the pursuit vehicle are sequentially activated, whereupon the tracking device emits a tracking signal, the solenoid is activated, releasing pad forks and thereby launching the tracking device towards the target vehicle. The tracking device is in free flight until it impacts (“tags”) the surface of the fleeing vehicle, to which it adheres by means of the carrier. The tagged vehicle thus emits a tracking signal which represents the location of the tagged vehicle, which is received by the receiving device and appears as an image on a monitor within the pursuit vehicle. The system can work with a Global Positioning Satellite system or similar navigational or communications satellites. The need to maintain constant visual contact is reduced, and thereby the risk of injury to the public and parties involved in the hot pursuit of a fleeing vehicle. Limingoja, U.S. Pat. No. 6,176,519, discloses a method for forced stopping of a second vehicle by using a first vehicle that includes equipment in the front end of the first vehicle which can be used to engage sheet metal structures, and the front end of the first vehicle is driven into the rear of the second vehicle so that the equipment in the front end of the first vehicle engages the sheet metal structure in the rear of the second vehicle. whereby the second vehicle can be stopped by the first vehicle. The equipment used can include a turning body part and a tip part with gripping device attached to the body part in a detachable way. The gripping device can contain a tip which penetrates the sheet metal structure. The method and the equipment according to the invention can be used to stop a fleeing vehicle without the need to drive beside it or to pass it or to try to force it off the road. Lowrie, U.S. Pat. No. 6,527,475, discloses a system for the selective deployment of a tire deflation device. The system incorporates the use of a mounted housing combined with a compressed gas propulsion source for ejecting a collapsed tire deflation device that is attached to the housing with a tether line. One embodiment of the invention is to have a dual system mounted to the underside of a vehicle behind the rear tires. Each system is pointed in an opposite direction to achieve left or right side deployment. A set of control switches mounted inside the vehicle near the operator can be depressed for either left or right side ejection. Upon ejection the tire deflation device projects laterally away from the vehicle. A remote trigger is disclosed. Ramirez, U.S. Pat. No. 6,623,205, discloses a vehicle disabling device for disabling a fleeing vehicle that has a carriage that is projected from a launch platform using a plurality of elongate extension tubes. The plurality of elongate extension tubes are pneumatically actuated with a tank of compressed air operably connected to the plurality of elongate extension tubes with a pneumatic hose. The carriage includes a pair of carriage wheels and is adapted for rectilinear movement in front of a pursuit vehicle. The carriage also includes a first arm and a second arm connected pivotally to the carriage. A plurality of spikes are disposed along the first and second arms, adapted to puncture the tires of the fleeing vehicle once the fleeing vehicle has run over one of the first and second arms. Brydges et al., U.S. Pat. No. 6,650,283, discloses an invention that is directed to a system for tracking a fleeing vehicle comprising a frangible tracking projectile and a launcher to propel and attach the tracking projectile to the fleeing vehicle. The launcher is a handheld or vehicle mounted pneumatic gun that uses high pressure gas to fire the projectile at the fleeing vehicle. The tracking projectile comprises an outer plastic casing that holds a GPS receiver, a radio transponder and a power source in an adhesive mixture. When the tracking projectile strikes its target, the plastic casing shatters allowing the adhesive substance to attach the GPS receiver, radio transponder and power source to the fleeing vehicle. Heibel, U.S. Pat. No. 6,715,395, discloses a pursuit vehicle that carries a remote targeting device in a suitable position to identify a target area on an inflated tire of the pursued vehicle and a launcher for a projectile suited to puncture an inflated tire of a pursued vehicle, from a position trailing the pursued vehicle. The projectile launcher launches the projectile when suitably triggered. An electrically operated, remote triggering device selectively causes the projectile launcher to launch the projectile at the identified target area, puncturing and thereby disabling the tire of the pursued vehicle.
The related art described above discloses several systems for stopping or identifying a fleeing vehicle including the use of spike strips and other puncture devices. However, the prior art fails to disclose a tethered flying projectile launched from a pursuing vehicle. The present disclosure distinguishes over the prior art providing heretofore unknown advantages as described in the following summary.